It’s taken half a year, but I feel like I’m slowly getting back into my reading groove. It helped that I had a week off work in June (the first and only one so far this year though, boo) and we went away for a few days to a cabin in Northumberland. Perfect reading holiday!
These are the books I finished in June.
Snowfall, by KM Peyton
Sixteen-year-old Charlotte Campbell lives a quiet, dull life in her grandfather’s Victorian vicarage, where she is due to be married off to the bumbling curate. When her older brother Ben returns from Oxford, full of stories of his adventures and exciting friends, she glimpses a way out.
Tagging along on a trip to Switzerland, Charlotte discovers a whole world she never knew existed – from the heights of the mountains to passionate romance. There’s no way she can return home after this taste of freedom.
This book has been in my collection since childhood. For a romance aimed at young readers, it’s actually an excellent read and it’s one I’ve returned to periodically over the years.
After escaping her dull childhood, Charlotte makes friends with a mixed bunch of characters including minor royal Milo Rawnsley, who is involved in a scandalous affair with a friend of his mother, and intelligent Oxford girl Phyllidia. This group of young women are rather pioneering for their time, climbing mountains and refusing to conform to the standards society sets out for them.
An engaging read, perfect for a rainy afternoon!
Find out more on Goodreads | Buy it on Amazon
Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders
The Man Booker Prize winner novel is an experimental tale of death and familial love. When Abraham Lincoln’s son dies after a painful illness, the grieving father visits the cemetery to mourn his son. There a motley group of lost souls are trying to help the boy move on to the afterlife.
I had mixed feelings about this one. The concept is fascinating and I enjoyed the way the story is told in abstract by so many different voices. There were some real glimpses of insight into the most poignant or disturbing aspects of the spirits’ lives, but ultimately I didn’t really connect with the book.
There were a few occasions where a line of text really jarred and took me out of the story in an unpleasant way, particularly descriptions of sex that I found a bit unpleasant.
I did finish the book, but it’s one that is easy enough to skim read and I’m afraid that’s what I did.
Find out more on Goodreads | Buy it on Amazon
Ragdoll, by Daniel Cole
When this came out, my Twitter timeline was full of rave reviews for months on end, so I finally caught up with hype on holiday earlier in the summer.
The story follows a particularly brutal and clever serial killer who seems determined to hunt down the troubled lead detective, himself not long out of prison for attacking a suspected murderer who was about to go free from court.
It took a little while to get into this one, although the middle section of the book is a page-turner. By the end though, things got a bit over the top for me.
Like many crime thrillers, this is a dark and violent read. But the murders in this book are possibly some of the most inventive, brutal and sickening I’ve come across within the genre. The story is written in a very filmic style too, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this shows up on screen sometime soon – although perhaps with the death scenes softened a little (yes, they are that grim).
I’m not normally squeamish about my thrillers, but this one did border on being a bit much. And after building up such an intense mythology around the killer, who seemed invincible, it didn’t really leave room for an ending that rang true.
Solid and entertaining enough, if you don’t mind the inventive violence, but I don’t think it’s a series I’ll continue with.
Find out more on Goodreads | Buy it on Amazon
Obsidio, by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
The third and final book in the Illuminae YA sci-fi trilogy.
Kady, Ezra, Hanna, and Nik narrowly escaped with their lives from an attack on the Heimdall space station and now find themselves crammed with 2,000 refugees on the container ship, Mao. With the jump station destroyed and their resources scarce, the only option is to return to mining colony Kerenza, a planet invaded by evil corporation BeiTech.
Meanwhile, Kady’s cousin, Asha, survived the initial BeiTech assault and has joined Kerenza’s ragtag underground resistance. When Rhys—an old flame from Asha’s past—reappears on Kerenza, the two find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict. With time running out, a final battle will be waged on land and in space, heroes will fall, and hearts will be broken.
This is an inventive and action-packed trilogy full of genuinely kick-arse female characters. Not only do the girls here demonstrate bravery and fighting skill, they can also hack complex computer systems, plan tactical missions with the best of them and outwit military forces.
If you’re going to read this book, you really do need to read the whole series, starting with Illuminae. Definitely recommend them all!